


PS 635 TOM QUICK, 

Z9 

copvi 'e AVENGER; 



OR, 

One Hundred For One. 



AN HISTORICAL TRAGEDY 
IN 

FIVE ACTS. 

BY 



James M. Allerton, 



PORT JERVIS. N. Y.: 
Daily Union Book and Job Printing Establishment. 



TOM QUICK, 

THE AVENGER; 

OE, 

One Hundred For One. 



AN H18T0EICAL TRAGEDY 
IN 

FIVE ACTS. 



BY viAV^l]883'r^ 



James M. Allerton. 



PORT JERVIS, N. Y.: 
Daily Union Book and Job Printing Establishment. 

1888. 






Entered according to Act of Congress in tlie 
year 1888, by 

JAMES M. ALLEETON, 

in the office of the Librarian of Congress 
at Washington, D. C. 



TMP92-008555 



gtriGK 



THE AVENGER; 

OR, 

ONE HUNDBED FOR ONE. 
ACT I. 

SCENE l.—On Bank of River. 

STAGE SETTING— S%a?r?7i^ Horse— Shavings and 

Hoop-poles — ^QuiCK Shaving Hoop-poles. 

Enter Pomp. 

Quick. Just iu time, Pomp ; these poles are all too 
short. 

Pomp. Misses says de meat is short, and dat I must 
go and kill some rabbits. 

Quick. Eight up there the rabbits are thick. 

Pomp. Where, massa ? 

Quick. Do you see that tall tree ? {Enter Maggie, 
gets in harrel.) Now, Pomp, help me drive the hoops 



TOM QUICK. ACT 1. 



on this barrel, and then you can go and shoot some 
rabbits. (Maggie si/'ike.s Quick ofi head.) Come, 
Pomp, no play here ! 

Pomp. I no play, cept I play on dis hoop. (Mag- 
gie strlke.i Pomp on head, Pomp rana and beckons Quick 
to come to him.) 

Quick. Why, Pomp, you look as if you had seen a 
ghost. 

Pomp. Dere is an Injun in dat barrel. I seed him 
wid my own eyes. He hit me on de head. Sound 
like a drum. 

Quick. Did you strike me a moment ago '? 

Pomp. No. 

Quick. Something did. 

Pomp. I tell you, massa, it was an Injun. I seed 
liim. He after my scalp. Oh — oh. 

Quick. You may be right. Pomp. Run to the house 
and get the gun. {Exit PoMP.) Is this the natural or 
tlie super-natural ? Certainly, something struck me on 
the head. As Pomp says, it sounded like a drum. 

Enter Pomp with gun. 

Pomp. Now, massa, shoot em ! Shoot em ! 

Quick. Not until we have seen something to shoot. 

Pomp. Shoot de barrel, massa, shoot de barrel. 

Quick. No ! You go and upset the barrel, and I 
will stand on guard. 

Pomp. If I find an Injun dere, I'll sarve him as 
Jonah did de whale — I'll eat em up. (PoMP starts for 
the barrel, sJial-'ing vjitJi fear.) Mr. Injun — ^Mr. Injun, 
now I hab you. {Droiypnuj on the floor and. craivling 
toward the barrel ; is then seized with fear and rolls 
away, then cra.wls to the barrel and ujjsets it.) Dere he 
is, massa. Shoot'm ! Shoot'm ! 

(Pomp runs off vnthfear. Enter Maggie from be- 
hind barrel, laughittg.) 



SCENE 1. TOM QUICK. 



Quick. Maggie, you little mischief ! What are you 
doing in that barrel ? 

Mag. {running to Jr/'n}.) Only having a little fun. 
Grand-pa — Grand-pa, was you scared ? Pomp was. 
He was so scared he looked Avhite. Pomp, come here. 
I won't hurt you. Grand-pa (talxing hold of him), you 
won't be mad at me, Avill you ? I only done it for a 
little fun. O, I teli you it was bully fun to see Pomp. 

Quick. You little minx! I want to get mad, but I 
can't. Those eyes of yours look just as your mother's 
did when she was of your age. 

Pomp {in the distance.) Massa, liab you shooted all 
dem Injuns ? Hab you siiooted dem all ? [Enter 
Pomp.) What is dat ? Massa kill all the big Injuns and 
capture the pap-pooses ? 

Quick. Come Pomp, it was only Maggie that scared 
you so. 

Pomp — Is dat so, massa ? Is dat so ; only little 
Maggie (ste2)2ying up hravely, taking Maggie hy the 
hand.) If you had been an Injun, I'd sarved you as 
Jonah did de whale. O, wan't massa scared ! Sent 
me after de gvm. [Pomj) latighing.) 

Maggie. Pomp, was you scared ? 

Pomp. No, I wan't scared. I knew it was Maggie 
all de while. 

Quick. Now, Pomp {handing gun), you can take the 
gun and go after rabbits. 

Pomp. Up dere, by dat tree '? 

Quick. Yes, the one just above the spring. 

Pomp. Wild rabbits ? 

Quick. Yes. 

Pomp. Den I'll tame em. [Exit Pomp.] 

Quick. Come here, Maggie. You are a mischievous 
little girl, but still I love you ; your grand-ma loves 
you ; Uncle Tom loves you — ^we all love you. 



6 TOM QUICK. ACT 1. 



Mag. And I love yoii all. 

Quick. Poor child ! It was a sad blow when your 
father died. 

Mag. But I have a good grand-pa. 

Quick. Yes, and a home as long as I live. Now go 
and help your grand-ma. 

Mag. Yes, I'll help her wash and churn and do lots 
of things. 

[Exit Maggie. Enter Pomp ivlth string of rahhits.) 

Quick. Hi, Pomp, you have been in luck to-day. 
Game must have been plenty . 

Pomp. Yes, massa, game plenty. Injuns plenty, too. 
Golly, massa, more dan one hundred and fifty tousand 
million Injuns dere. 

Quick. Tut — tut. Pomp, there ain't that many In- 
juns in the world. 

Pomp. Not so many as dat ? 

Quick. No, you exaggerate. 

Pomp. I zagerate. Dat's too much for dis nigger. 
What is zagerate ? 

Quick. To exaggerate is to multiply, to increase, to 
over-estimate the real number. > 

Pomp. Den you tink I lie ? 

Quick. No, not lie, Pomp, only mistaken. 

Pomp. I tell you, massa. Pomp make no mistake. 
Pomp know — ^counted every one of dern. 

Quick. Counted a hundred and fifty thousand mil- 
lions ! Why, Pomp, that is more than you could count 
in your whole life time. That is more than there are 
trees in the forest ! 

Pomp. Dat so, massa, dat so. Dats how I know 
how many dere was. Dere was fifty Injuns in ebery 
tree, and de wimins and de chilluns was a hanging on 
de bushes. 

Quick. What were they doing. Pomp ? 

Pomp. Looken and peeken at you wid deir knives 



SCENE 1. TOM QUICK. 



and p;nns in deir hands, jnst as I would do if I was 
going to shoot a deer. 

Enter Tom. 

Quick. Jnst in time, my son. Yon can go up the 
river with me to get some hoop-poles. Pomp, get the 
axe and come along. 

Pomp. Massa, just for dis once sense dis darkey ? 

Quick. Why, Pomp, what are you afraid of ? Do 
you think the bears will squeeze you ? 

Pomp. No, mass i, I tink Injuns scalp me. 

Tom. Nonsense, boy. nonsense ! The Indians are 
our friends, and, sooner than harm a hair of our heads, 
they would die for us. 

Pomp. Dat may be so, young massa ; but I tell you 
dey look mighty fightish. Dey peek down dis way as 
if dey were looken for scalps. 

Quick. We will excuse you. Pomp. You must have 
had bad dreams last night, and to-day every tree and 
stump is an Indian. And if they were I'd have no 
fear. I am the Indian's friend. My house has been 
their shelter, and my table bountifully spread to satisfy 
their wants. And my son Tom, here, has hunted over 
these mountains, and fished through these streams with 
them until he has learned their language and nearly 
forgotten his own. Come, boys, let us go for the poles. 

Pomp. Yes, massa, you go for de poles. Dis darkey 
go for de cellar. 'yEx'd Pomp.] 

Quick. My son, what could have got into Pomp's 
head to make him think the woods are full of Indians ? 
He really believes he saw thousands. 

Tom. It is true, father, that tlie Indians have ap- 
peared up the river in large numbers, and have taken 
some scalps ; but there is no danger here. The Indians 
are our friends. I love them as brothers, and would 
trust them as I would you, father. 



TOM QUICK. ACT 1. 



( They start and are greeted hy a volley of rifle shots. 
Quick falh, mortally wounded.) 

Tom. You are liurt, father, let me help you. 

Quick. No, boy, help yourself and those that must 
now depend on you for protection. Pomp was right. 
They will soon hiive my scalp. Flee for your life, 
Tom, flee ! 

Tom. Wliat ! and leave my father to the merciless 
savage ? Never ! 

Quick. Yes, leave me. They have destroj^ed the 
])ody, but my soul is in the hands of one that never 
deceives. (War lohoop is heard.) My son give me 
3' our hand. Tom, I love you, I love you all. Will you 
■grant me ono request ? 

Tom. Yes, father, name it [vipiurf his eyes in'itli Jiix 
sleeve.) 

Quick. Fly, then, to the opposite shore. When it 
is safe, return and give me Christian burial. I leave 
Mtiggie in your charge. You must be both uncle and 
father to her. 

Tom. It shall be as you say, father ; but I swear 
eternal vengeance on every cursed redskin. 

Quick. Swear not at all, my son, but run. The In- 
dians are coming down u])on us — I hear their scalping 
whoop. 

Tom. Farewell, father, farewell. 

(Tom springs on the ice and svyiftly rxms for the op- 
posite shore ; a volley of halls whiz hy him, a hall 
strikes his heel and he falls. The Indians cry, 
" Tom is dead .^" Tom rines to his feet and escapes 
to the Jersey shore.) 

{Enter Muskwink, snaps gun at Quick, gives crow call, 
" Kah, kah, kah /" hraves enter, execute a war dance 
around Quick.) 



SCENE 1. TOM QUICK. 9 

MusKWiNK. Pale face, your time lias come and the 
white man's God cannot save you. 

Quick. The white man's God will save me and take 
me home in the spirit's land {pointing heavenward?^ 

MusKWiNK. Without your scalp ? 

Quick. My soul is not in my scalp. You can des- 
troy the body, but my soul is beyond your reach. 

Muskwink. Can white man stand fire ? 

Quick. Yes, in this world — Indian in the next. 

Muskwink. Dog ! Do you defy me and insult the 
Great Spirit ? Prepare for torture ! 

Quick. I am prepared to die — do your worst. I 
can but die — die I must. 

Muskwink. Where is th(i white man's God ? lur 
dian's God is here ! We see the Great Spirit in the 
lofty mountains, in the foaming streams and rustling 
leaves. We hear him in the whistling wind, the roar- 
ing cataract and belching thunder. We think we feel 
him here {placing hand on heart). Indian's God good, 
great and powerful. White man's God help white man 
cheat Indian. White man's God send missionary to con- 
vert Indian. Missionary in the cabin of the ship, fire- 
water in the hold. White man want all and cry, " Go 
West, Indian, go West !" The Delaware and Never- 
sink valleys were once the home and hunting ground 
of the Indian. We were then contented and happy. 
You came among us. We gave you land to live on and 
helped to build your house. Then the white man 
swarmed among us like bees from the hive. Now, the 
Cuddebacks and Swartwouts, the Gumaers and Van 
Ettens own all. From the Hudson on the East to the 
Delaware on the West, the ravages of Christianity are 
to be seen at every step. The Indian lodge is gone. 
The white man's house has taken its place, and your 
cry is still, " Go West, Indian, go West !" Yes, the 
white man will drive the Indian West until their bodies 



10 TOM QUICK. ACT 1. 

waste on the Western slope and their bones are washed 
by the waters of the Pacific, but remember, white 
man, that revenge is the Indian's religion. Revenge 
we seek, revenge we will have. Yes, we will go West, 
but not until we have taken the last scalp and burned 
the last house in the Delaware Valley. White man, I 
will now speak to my braves in their own native tongue 
and incite them to deeds of blood and bravery — and 
then thou die. ^ 

(Muskivink addresses Ills hravesin the Delaware tongue, 
which, heing translated, is as folloivs : 

Braves ! The time has come to assert our riglits. 
The invader of our hunting grounds .must be driven to 
•the spirit's world, or we must submit like women. But 
a few years ago the Neversink and Delaware valleys 
was our home and hunting grounds. Now the white 
man owns all and we are driven to the mountains. 
Soon there will be no ground whore the Indian can 
build his wigwam. The white man respects neither 
the dead or tlio livint>. The graves of our fathers are 
]jeing ploughed and their bones scattered over the fields. 
Thomas Quick was the first to come among us. He is 
the leader. He should die ! All Indians should unite. 
The war cry should be sounded, the hatchet should be 
dug up and the scalping knife unsheathed. As your 
chief I will set the example — kill him with my own 
tomahawk and scalp him with my knife. The braves 
will give the war-whoop, and cowards will retire to the 
mountains with the women. {Kills and scalps Quick 
amid the war-whoojJs of the Indians), saying, Die, 
dog, die ! Tom Quick's scalp. Uh ! Uh ! ( Tears off 
sleeve huttons.) Tom Quick's sleeve buttons. 

Hawkeye. White man come ; white man come. 

MusKWiNK. To the mountains, braves, to the moun- 
tains. {Exit Indians.) Tom Quick first to invade In- 



SCENE 1. TOM QUICK. 11 

dian soil — first to die. {^Exit Muskwink.] 

Enter To^, follou-ed Inj Betsy, Maggie andVoiwv. 

Tom. Father ! Father ! My God ! Killed and 
scalped ! 

Betsy {falling IjesuJe Quick.) Oh, my husband! 

Tom. You will see that father is properly buried. I 
have other work to do. From this time my work will 
be to avenge my father's death. {Tlieu. Tom tal'es knife 
in rigid hand and gun in left.) By the point of the 
knife in my right hand and the deadly bullet in my left, 
I swear by Heaven and all there is in it, by earth and 
all there is on it, by the love I bore my father, here, 
by his dead body, I swear eternal vengeance on the 
whole Indian race. I swear to drive them from the 
Delaware Valley. I swear to kill all — to spare none ; 
the old man with silver hair, the lisping babe without 
teeth, the mother quick with child, and the maid in the 
bloom of youth shall die. A voice from mj- father 
cries, " Bevenge ! Revenge! Eternal — revenge!" 
{^Throwing himself across father s body.) 

END ACT I. 



ACT II, 

SCENE I.— Quick's kitchen. 

STAGE BWilTl^Q.—Sjniimng-wheel, sioift and reel. 
Betsy at spinning -u' heel, Maggie at reel, Betsy and 
Maggie singing. 

Maggie. Grandmother, why do you tie this on the 
reel so often ? 

Betsy. So as to divide the knots. By that we know 
when we have got a run. 



12 TOM QUICK. ACT 2. 

Maggie. What difference does it make when you 
have the wool all spun ? You don't make any more ot 
less of it by tying it up in this way. 

Betsy. But we know how much we have got. 

Maggie. What difference does it make ? You have 
got it all, any way. 

Betsy. I will explain it to you, child. It is very 
important to know just how many runs we have. There 
are forty threads in a knot. You will notice that every 
little while a spring snaps on the reel. That denotes one 
knot, or that you have turned the reel around forty 
times. Then you must tie it and go on as before, and,- 
Avhen you have forty knots, you have one run, or six- 
teen huntlred threads. 

Maggie. But, grandmother, I fail to see where that 
makes any difference. You haven't got any more after 
all your counting. 

Betsy. But, child, it does makes a difference. First, 
one run is a day's work. Thirty knots will make a yard 
of cloth, nine knots a pair of stockings, and four knots 
a pair of mittens. 

Maggie. I see, grandmother, I see, now, what it is 
for. 

Betsy. I have not told you all the reasons yet. 
Suppose we had wool enough to make eighty runs of 
yarn, some to be spun for men's wear, some for women's 
wear, and some for sheets, stockings and mittens, how 
would we know how much to spin of each kind unless 
it was reeled and knotted ? 

Maggie. I see it all, now, and will try and remem- 
ber. 

Betsy. Yes, Maggie, j^ou must learn and remember 
all these things ; for no girl is prepared to marry until 



SCENE 1. TOM QUICK. 13 

she can spin and weave, make and mend her husband's 
clothes. 

Maggie. Why, graud-ma, do you think that I am 
going to get married ? 

Betsy. Yes'; at least I hope so ; for a woman with- 
out a husband is like a house without a roof, assailed 
by the storms of the world from every quarter. 

Maggie. Then I shall be assailed ; for I shall never 
marry. 

Betsy. That is what all girls say ; but their actions 
speak differently. 

Maggie. Why, graud-ra i, have I acted that way ? 

Betsy. Maggie, you are in love with Abram Win- 
field, or you are a hypocrite 

Maggie. I am no hypocrite, grand-ma. 

Betsy. You love him, or your eyes and actions belie 
you. 

Maggie, Grandmother, neither my eyes nor actions 
belie me. I do love Abram, and have promised to be 
his wife. 

Betsy (taking Maggie i^. hand.) Maggie, I approve 
of your choice, and, were your father and grandfather 
living, they would, too ; but when is the wedding to 
take place ? 

Maggie. As soon as the war is over. 

Betsy. This is a relief, Maggie ; for Piper could 
have but one object in coming here. 

Maggie. And that object, grandmother ? 

Betsy. To gain your affections, child. 

Maggie. Don't you worry about Piper ; I hate him. 
I only endure his presence because Uncle Tom used to 
think so much of him. 



14 TOM QUICK. ACT 1. 



Betsy. Well, we will talk of Piper, at some other 
time. You fiuisli winding the yarn, and I will go and 
get the potatoes for dinner. lExit Betsy.] 

Enter Vouv, singing. 

Hi ! ho ! rafimen dere, 
rioat'ii down de riber in de Delaware. 
De raftmen dance, 
De raftmen sing, 
De raftmen up to ebery ting. 
Dey dance all night 
Till broad day light, 
And go home wid de gals in de raorn'n. 
Mag. There, there. Pomp ! You seem to have for- 
gotten that our hearts are sad and our home desolate. 
Pomp. No, missie, Pomp no forget. Pomp know all. 
Pomp see old massa out dere in de woods. 
Mag. See what? 

Pomp. See old massa wid a big red spot on de top 
oh his head, whar de Injuns cut his scalp off. 
Mag. You imagined that. Pomp. 
Pomp. I iujuned dat ? 
Mag. No, not injuned — imagined. 
Pomp. What am magined ? 

Mag. That is to think you have seen something, 
when you have not. You think you saw my grand- 
father, but y-ou could not ; for he is dead and buried. 

Pomp. Don't git mad. Miss Maggie. I tell you I did 
see old massa out dere — dat is, I see his ghost- tis dere, 
and dat scare dis darkey so dat I got so white dat I 
didn't know mysef. And den I sung de raftmen to 
keep de ghost-tis-ses off. 

Mag. That is what Uncle Tom calls whistling 
through the grave yard for protection. 
Pomp. Whar am massa Tom '? 
Mag. I don't know. He has been gone four years. 



^SGENE 1, TOM QTJTCTK:. 15 

I suppose lie is hunting. He seized liis' tnife ?ind 
shouldered his onn at his father's gi^ave. Since that 
time he has not been seen or the- report of his rifle 
heard.* But he will return^ and bring his game. 

Pomp, les, Tom will return, but widout his game. 
Dat he wdll leab in de^wootls for de wild cats j wolves 
and bars to eat. 

Mag. Why not bring his game home ? 

Pomp, Tiase Miss Maggie -wouldn't ^afe ' Tom*s 
game. 

Mag. What game do jou think Tom hunts? 

Pomp, De Injuns am Tom's game. He takes deir 
gcalps and frows deir bodies to de wolves. 

Mag. O, Pomp, that is horrible. Mj XJiicle Tom 
wouldn't do that. 

Tom appears, lisfenmg. 

Pomp, Yes, he will do dat — he got to do dat. He 
swar to do dat. He swar by lieben,. bj arth, by all 
dats in it or on it,, to kill all de Injuns. De ole man 
wid de silber- har,. de little babe widout teef, the mud- 
der wid child \. and all' de scfuaw gals- sko^d die. 
Ehter'-'^xm., loith g^in.. 

Mag, Why, . ■Boiole' . Tom {rumiing- io and. kissing 
hi7/i), I am so. glad ta see you ! Where l^cve you been ? 
What have you> been doing ?. Pomp says that you are 
hunting Indians. 

Tom. Pomp- is rigiit,- Maggie ,~ t^e' Best of my life 
^hall, be devoted to the eslermination. of the savage 
race. I have sworn it. 

Pomp. Yes,:massa Tom^ Pbmp am; always right ; but 
when I told yer. dafe dere was more, dan one hundred 
q,nd fifty tousand million luj^uns in de woods, you sed 
li graduated. 

Mag. You, mean:; exagerated. 

Tom. We will not quarrel with 1 Pomp about the 



16 TOM QUICK. ACT 2. 

number^ There were a great many, then, more than 
tliere are now, audtlieir numljer will grow less from day 
to day, or this riHe will miss its mark {I'alaiag lih rlfie.) 
Bnt, Maggie, where is mother '? I wish to see you and 
hor alone for a few moments. Pomp, yon go and feed 
the chickens. 

Pomp. Yes, massa, I'll stuff de chickens now ; dey 
stuff me nex Crismas. \_Ed'it Pomp.] 

Enter Betsy. [Emhraces Tom.) 

Betsy. Welcome, Tom, to our desolate home — and 
made still more desolate by your absence. Sit down, 
my son, and let us plan for the future. 

Tom. Mother, my plans for the future are already 
f(^rmed. I proclaimed them at my father's death. I 
then and there made a vow. That vow is engraven on 

my heart and recorded in Heaven. Think not to 

deter me. Eevenge I seek revenge I'll have. But 

1 love my mother and Maggie none the less ; and have 
returned for but a few moments to advise for the future. 

Betsy. What are your plans, Thomas ? 

Tom. My plan is {taVtng Maggie hy the Jiavd), i\\ixi 
this dear girl marry, and she and her husband take 
care of you and the farm. 

Mag. Then, I suppose, you have been so thoughtful 
as to select my futnre husband ? 

Tom. I have. Peter Piper is the man. 

Mag. Do vou think tliat vou would like to call me 
Mrs. Peter Piper V 

Tom. I think I would like to see you married, and 
Peter Piper would make you a good husband. Come, 
Maggie, what do you sav V 

Mag. Say to what?" 

Tom. To marrying Peter Piper. 

Mag. Uncle, you ain't in earnest ? 

Tom. I was never more so in my life. 



SCENE 1. TOM QUICK. 17 

Mag. I don't know that Peter Piper would like to 
make me Mrs. Peter Piper. 

Tom. I know, and lie would marry you to-night. 
Come, Maggie, what is your answer ? 

MaCt. My answer is that you had better get married 
yoiirself, and you and your bride take care of mother 
and the farm. 

Tom. That can't be, Maggie. Hereafter I have no 
home. Henceforth the mountains and woods will be 
my home ; the cave my retreat ; th6 earth my bed ; the 
starry heavens my covering — -and revenge my bride. I 
have sworn it ! I have vowed it \ That vow I'll keep, 
though I lose my soul. And my cry, hereafter, will be, 

" Revenge ! Revenge ! ! " Back— back demons, 

devils and saints back! (Maggie and mother on 

eitJier side take hold of hhn.) 

Betsy. Tom, my boy, you are beside yourself. This 
terrible thing has driven you mad and deprived you of 
reason. Listen, boy, listen to your mother. 

Tom. Mad, eh ! Yes, mother, it may be madness ; 
but it is a heaven-sent madness, from which I shall 
never recover. 

Enter Piper. 
But here comes Piper, who will speak for himself. Good 
morning, Piper {s]iakef< Jianda.) I have spoken to Mag- 
gie about you marrying her, but she has not answered 
me yet. Come, Maggie, give us an answer — I must go. 
I saw a moccasin track in the sands this morning and 
must be on the trail before sun down. 

Mag. What do you want me to answer ? 

Tom. Will you marrj^ Piper ? 

Mag. He hasn't asked me yet. 

Piper. I ask you now {(jetting on knees and taking 
hold of Mag's hands.) Maggie, I love you a bunch — 
yes, a great big bunch, and want you for my wife. 

Mag. Get up, Pete. That ain't no place for a lover 



'J8 TOM QUICK. ■ ACl'''^. 

or hunter. (j?(? riMS.) Nd>v. Pete, you say that yon love 
iue ? 

Piper. Yes^ Maggie, everybody says I love you. 

Mag. Suppose tliat some girl shovikl ask you tQ 
marry her, that you did not like, >vhat would yo;Ur say ? 
' Piper. What would I say ? 

Mag. Yes, wliat would you say t 

PiPe£ AVhv, Maggie, you know I would say " No." 
Do you think I would marry a girl that I didn't love, 
and wouldn't be willing to, die for ? 

Mag. Would you die for me, Peter ? 

Piper. Would I iiie for you ? I giiess I would. 
Just give me a chance and I'll die ten times for you. 
■ Mag. You needn't die ten times— ^Ojuce -^Yill do. Now, 
just die once, right hei'e. to; convince me that you love; 
me. I want to see if you would make a good looking 
Corpse. 

Piper. Oh— I see i you want nie' to i die in^ earnest,, 
so. that you can marry that other fellow. 
'■ • Tom (excitedly?) What other fellow ? 

Piper. I tell you, Tom, Maggie i^s^ a sly - puss. She 
has, been smiling arbuad Ab# Winfiekl a,t all the sapp |te\ 
cuts this fall. 

Tom. Is that so, Maggie. ?; 

Mag. I don't know whether it is- so- ■ o^- > not ; but I 
don't think I would die for hiiu. 

Tom. Gome, my time is precions will you m^rry 

Piper ? 
^ Mag. Not if I am there and know myself. 

Tom. Why not, pray,' Miss Maggie ? ' I desire it. 

Mag.^ Fof the^ very reason that P«te gave why he. 
wouldn't marry a girl he clidn't like. 
' Piper. But I. do lik e you, Miss Maggie.. 

Mag. But I don't like you, Peter. 



Piper. Why,, you know that I am, dying for ypu. 
Tom. I.mustlfiav(e you {plckhig' n^:g^n)^mlA■t^ 



trust 



SCENE 1. TOM QUICK. 19 

that wlien I return to learn that you and Piper have 
come to an understanJiug. A woman's heart is some- 
thing I never could comprehend. (Tom .siarts to go.) 

Piper. O, Maggie, do*^iefore Tom goes. 

Tom. Maggie, I am not only your uncle but your 
lawful guardian, and as, such I have the right' to dis- 
pose of your hand. 

Mag. But not of my heart, uncle — that belongs to 
me ; and sooner than yield that to a cowardly fooldike 
Peter Piper, I'll remain" an old' maid until I dry up and 
blow away. 

Tom. That settles it. You had better try your suit 
some other day, and I hope you will be more success- 
ful. I will join you outside in a moment. 

PiPEii. Good by, Maggie. 

Mag. Good by, Peter ; take good care of Tom. 

Tom. Piper wait for me outside, [^xii Piper.] 

Betsy. Why, Tom, are you going to leave us so soon ? 
Don't let your misfortune cause you to forget your 
home and mother. 

Tom {afectionatehj.) Forget my dear mother and the 
home of ' my childhood ? Never ! mother, never ! It 
is. the love I have for my home and parents that has 
caused me to become the avenger of the Delaware val- 
ley. Good by, mother ! Good by, Maggie ! {Eni- 
hracing each.) [Exit Tom.] 

Eater Pomp. 

Mag. Mother, what makes Tom so anxious for me 
to marry Peter Piper ? 

Betsy. The murder of his father has turned his 
head and dethroned his reason. He is not responsible 
for what he says or does ; but I must prepare dinner. 

[Exit Betsy.] 

Pomp. Whew, missie, dat was a doxoliger ! You 
am a reg'lar trump — turn jack ebery time. Call Peter 



20 TOM QUICK. ACT 2. 

Piper fool, ah — ah ! Dere you wrong, missie. Peter 
no fool — Pete big debbil. Pete help Injuns kill massa. 

Mag. Was Piper with the Jnclians when they killed 
and scalped my grandfather ? 

Pomp. Yah. 

Mag. You are sure of that ? 

Pomp. Yah. 

Mag. You are sure that you are not mistaken ? 

Pomp. Pomp knows — Pomp makes no mistake. 
Pomp see one hundred and fifty tousand Injuns in de 
woods, and Peter Piper was one ob dem. Pomp tell 
ole massa of dat, and massa tell me I graduate. Massa' 
no belieb Pomp and git scalped. 

Mag. Come here, Pomp, and sit beside me. 

Pomp {aside.) I wonder if she am going to make lub 
to me ! Dere am no telling what calico will do in a 
gale. 

Mag. Pomp {taking hold of his hands), now let us 
have a serious talk. 

Pomp. Serus talk ! Wot am dat ? 

Mag. a talk in which you mean what you say, and 
say what you mean. 

Pomp. A sort of ligious talk ? Go ahead, den ; I 
feel berry spirital. 

Mag. Pomp, do you believe that Piper is a tory ? 
{Looks around.) 

Pomp. Yah, he am bell-wether tory. 
Mag. Then, Pomp, we must keep an eye on him. 
To be forewarned is to be forearmed. 

Pomp. Yah, missie, I keep two eyes on him- 

lExit Pomp.] 
Mag. Let me see. I am just 19 years old to-day ; 
weigh 110 pounds ; pretty good looking, at least Peter 



SCENE 1. TOM QUICK. 21 

Piper thinks so ; old enough to get married, at least 
uncle Tom thinks so. Well, I think so myself. I won- 
der why I think so ? Well, I suppose it is natural ; all 
girls want to get married, and half of them want the 
same fellow. I used to think that girls were foolish to 
tie themselves to any man for life, but since I became 
acquainted with Abe I have kinder got over that. I 
guess it is a good thing to have a good husband and a 
home of your own, but girls ain't always sure of that. 
Grand-ma says it is a lottery ; that sometimes you 
draw a prize and sometimes a blank. But what am I 
talking about ? Abram Winfield is no blank — he is a 
prize. He is noble and generous. He is a patriot and 
willing to lay down his life for his country, and, above 
all, he loves me. What more can a girl ask ? Do I 
love him ? That is the question ! Yes, I do — my 
heart tells me so, and grand-ma says that my eyes and 
actions speak the language of my heart. Yes, Abram, 
I love you and long for this cruel war to end, that you 

may return and make me your bride. But suppose 

no, I'll not think of that. Heaven could not be so 
cruel as to suffer him to be harmed. But I don't like 
that sneaking Piper coming here so often. Grand-ma 
says he is trying to gain my affections. Just let him 
press his suit, and he will have the affections of a 
broom-stick to take home with him. 

Enter Pomp. 



Pomp. Miss Maggie, dat oder feller am coming. 

Mag. What other fellow ? Who — what {confused^ 

Pomp. Yer beau, massa Abe. 

Mag. And I looking like a fright ! Pomp, you run 
down the lane and tell him some fish or ghost story and 



22 TOM QUICK. ACT 2. 



keep liim out of the house until I fix my hair and 
brush up. \ExH Pomp.] 

There, I guess that will do. Now I am a real Juliet 
looking for her Eomeo. Here he comes ! 

Enter Abram Winfield. 

Win. Maggie ! 

Mag. Abram ! [Embracing each ot^ier.) 

AViN. Maggie, you are an angel ! 

Mag. Then, Abram, this must be heaven. 

Win. Yes, a heaven I would like to remain in — but 
duty calls me elsewhere. 

Mag. And leave me alone without a protector ? 

Win. For a short time only, I trust. 

Mag. It is hard, Abram — it is hard. One short 
month more and you were to have been mine ; now you 
leave me, perhaps never to return. [Drains her to his 

l)n.':Om.) 

Win. Maggie, this must not be. You make us both 
miserable. You know that you have my undivided 
love, but my country calls ; my comrades call ; my 
love for you calls and I must go. .Rely upon the 
honor of a soldier, that, if it is Grod's will, I will return 
and make Maggie my bride. 

■ ..Mag. [freeing herself.) And I say, "go!" I, your 
affianced wife, say "go ! " I, who love you as no other 
can, say "go ! " And on the tented field or amid the 
clash and clamor of arms, I will be thy guardian angel. 
Yes ; go, and take with you my prayers. I am your's 
and Avill never be another's. Should you fall, I crave 
the right to bring you home and strew your grave with 
the choicest of fiowers and water them with my tears 
[falling on his breast.) 

Win. Well said, bravest and best of women ! [A 
Jlash of light ])eaet rates the house.) What is that ? 
Brant is upon them ; the valley is in flames and the 



SCENE 1. TOM QUICK. 23 

Indians are at their horrid butcher3^ I must join my 
men. Good b}-, Mac^oie, sjood by ! 

\_Exit WiNFiELD. Maggie iveeping.] 
Enter Piper. 
Piper. Good evening, Maggie ! Why, what is the 
matter ? You look sick. You look a« though you had 
been kicked by a mule. 

Mag. It is not necessary to be kicked by a mule to 
produce sickness ; the presence of one is sufficient, and 
unless you get out of here at once your muleship will 
be kicked into the road. Pomp, Pomp —come here. 

Piper. Ha, ha ! You may call on Pomp until dooms- 
day. He won't come. I locked him in the chicken 
house to fight fleas. Now, Maggie Quick, take your 
choice. Go with me willingly or by force — for go you 
shall. 

Mag. I'll not go either way. I'll die first. 

Piper. I have no time to fool. Will you go ? 

Mag. NEYEE ! 

Piper. Never is a long time. We will see. Come ! 
{Seizes her.) Maggie Quick, you are in my power. 
Neither men nor devils can save you. Your father is 
dead, your grandlather is dead, and your false lover 
has forsaken you. Come ! 

Mag. {pulls loose.) Peter Piper, do you think to 
scare a backwoods girl by telling her that her father 
is dead ? Do you expect to frighten me by saying 
my lover is false ? You are not only a liar, but a 
coward. 

Piper. A coward ? 

Mag. Yes, a base coward. None but cowards would 
take advantage of a woman ! Leave me, beast — leave 
me ! 

Piper. When I go you will go with me. Come ! 



24 TOM QUICK. ACT 3. 



{TaJces hold of her with left hand, holds gun in right ; 
a struggle ensues; she lets go ;'PiTEn falls, throwmggun 
over his head ; Maggie runs, calling, " Abe ! Abe ! " 
Piper rises, draws knife and rushes at her.) 
Filter WiNFiELD. 

Win. Here ! (Maggie throws herself on his losom. 
Abe iires and PiPer is wounded.) 

Piper. CUESE HIM ! CURSE HIM ! ! 



lExit Piper.] 



end act II. 



ACT III. 

SCENE I. — Tom's cabin in the woods. 

Enter Tom from a hunting expedition with a snddle of 

venison. 
Tom. This is ratlier a nice evening. Let me see — 
it is full moon, a good coon night. Yes, a good night 
for Indian coons. What say you. Long Tom ? {raises 
(/tin.) How would you like to drop one of the red 
coons before morning ? I would. That would make 
it just eightj^-seven red devils that I have sent to 
the spirit's land since Muskwink murdered my father. 
Tell me, oh, ye stars ! [loukhig up) for what was he 
murdered ? For being a good man, a kind neighbor, 
a God-fearing aixl God-loving man ? Father — my 
father — you sleep on the banks of the Delaware. No, 
only your body lies there ; your spirit is here, there — 
everywhere. It is now hovering round and about me. 
It is continually whispering in my ear. Revenge ! 
Revenge ! It is God's will that your death should 
be avenged. It is God's will that Tom Quick should 
be your avenger. For this I have left home and the 
comforts of civilized life and burrowed in the ground 



SCENE 1. TOM QUICK. 25 

like a rabbit. For this I have left the mother that gave 
me i)irth aii-l taii<j,ht me to say {I'nceling), " Now I lay 
me down to sleep ; I pray the Lord my soul to keep. 
If I should die before I wake ; I pray the Lord my 
soul to take." That kind, good and generous mother 
now kneels on the old family hearth and mourns the 
loss of the living, as if dead. Maggie, too ; God bless 
her ! She is here — I feel her continually knocking at 
my heart, saying, " Uncle Tom, come home." Pray 
on, dear girl, and, when my mission is ended, may 
father and son, mother and child meet in that happy 
hunting ground, where there will be no father's blood 
to avenge. {Pig squeals.) What is that ? Some new 
deviltry going on. That squeal sounds more like a 
two-legged devil than a four-legged hog. Come, Tom 
[takes gan), let us look around and see if one of these 
pesky red skins is trying to steal our pork. {Sqtceal.) 
Pretty well done ; but the genuine hog grammar is left 
out. You forgot to dot your I's and cross your T's. 
You lay too much stress on that L in the word squeal. 
{Squeals again.) That is a little better and might de- 
ceive a boy, but it won't me. Tom is too old for that'. 
You had better stop squealing and go to praying, for the 
Devil will have a new comer before morning, or my 
name is not Tom Quick. Come, Tom {lifting gim), let 
us walk around and see how his porkship looks in the 
rear. {Continual t;([uealing. Hou passes through cahin 
and appears left of jjig-pen, takes aim, fires and Indian 
leaps in the air and falls on the outside of the pen.) 
Well done, Tom, well done ! That makes the record 
eighty-seven. Let me see. According to old DaboU, 
it will take just thirteen more to make an even hun- 
dred. Tom, let us pray. {Leaning on gun, foot on 
Indians hreast, luith loived head.) Good Lord or good 
devil, either one or both ! I do hereby pray that I 
may be permitted to remain in this mortal coil until I 



2G TOM QUICK. ACT 3. 

have sent thirteen more Indians to the spirit's land ; 
then I shall .be ready and willinj^ to depart to the 
hunter's paradise, Amen ! {Rolling Indian over with 
his foot.) Well, Mr. Squealer, why don't you squeal 
now ? I guess Long Tom has taken all the squeal out 
of you. I have heard say that two things can't occupy 
the same place at the same time, so I suppose that 
when the bullet went in, the squeal went out. Why 
didn't you run a little further from the house before 
you turned your toes up ? You will smell bad here 
and invite the wolves and panthers to view your corpse. 
Come^ come ! [Takes hold of hhn,.) Take your last 
leap down the rocks. 

\^Exit Tom dragging Indian off.^ 

SCENE II. — Indians cross stage on trail of Tom at 
Westbrookville. Scene changes. 



SCENE III.— Tom splitting rails. 

Tom. Here I am at Westbrookville splitting rails. 
X should be at Shohola splitting heads and scattering 
brains. That would be more in keeping with my con- 
science than to stand here and pound on these wedges. 
Confound the log ! It is as crossTgrained as a pep- 
peridge and sticks to the bark as close as an In- 
dian to his scalping knife. Curse the red devils ! I 
long to see the last one killed and scalped. If there 
were more Tom Quicks tliere would be less Indians. 
Well, they are growing less day by day. Yesterday I 
sent five more to the Spirits' Land. Yesterday I col- 
ored Butler's Falls with blood. Yesterday the hawks 
at Hawk's Nest Mountain wafted the spirits of five more 
to the Indian's eternal hunting ground. There were 
big spirits and little spirits. It was easy to pop over 
the old man and his squaw, but when it come to knock- 



SCENE 3. TOM QUICK. 27 

inp; out the brains of the little babe, that kiiirly went 
against the grain. Confound the little redskin ! He 
looked me right in the eye and laughed, as much as to 
say : " Uncle Tom, don't." I most wished I had 
spared the boy to see if anything could be made out of 
a redskin. But pshaw ! papooses become Indians 
as surely as nits become lice. But I must go to work or 
the sun will darken before I get these rails split. To- 
day comes the great eclipse of the sun, and soon that 
orb from which we receive light and heat will be ob- 
scured and the earth will be wrapped in the mantle of 
night. See ! It approaches (points to sim) and dark- 
ness will soon prevail. What is that ! {/Springing for 
his rijle, hut is seized hy six Indians.) 

Hawk-eye. Pale face, your time has come. The 
Avenger of the Delaware Valley must die. At sundown 
you can fight fagot and fire. Now call upon the white 
man's God and see if he can, or will, save you. 

Tom. The white man's God is the Indian's Great 
Spirit. That spirit is here and talks with me. 

Hawk-eye. What does the white man's God say ? 

Tom. He says Indian tells the truth ; that my time 
has come ; that I must die ; that I must not fight the 
Indian now, but go with you freely as soon as my work 
is done. 

Hawk-eye. What work ? 

Tom. Finish splitting this log. 

Hawk-eye. What more does the white man's God 
say ? 

Tom. He says you must help me split this log, and 
he will darken the sun until you light the fire about 
me.. See ! [Points to sun.) The work of the Great 
Spirit has begun. The sun darkens and it v/ill soon be 
night at noon-day. 



28 TOM QUICK. ACT 4. 

Hawk-eye. White man's God great and powerful. 
How did he say Indian help ? 

Tom. By pulling on the log when I strike the 
wedge. 

Hawk-eye. Wliite man tell ; Indian do. 

Tom. Get three on a side and pull. ( The Indians 
get three on a side, hands on log.) 

Hawk-eye. We ready. Strike the wedge. (Tom 
strikes wedge and it hounds in the air. Crack closes in 
log and Indians, all yelling, are fast. 

Tom. Ha, ha ! White man's God says more. He 
says Indian must die. Look at the waning sun. When 
that becomes darkened the Indians will be in the 
Spirit's world. It grows darker, darker, darker. In- 
dians die. (Tom loith beetle kills Indians.) 

END ACT III. 



ACT IV. 

SCENE I. — Quick's Farm House. Maggie arrang- 
ing furniture. 

Mag. I wonder if Abe will be here to-night. These 
soldiers are very uncertain. When you think you've 
got em they have to go off on some crazy expedition or 
other, no matter what engagement they have with the 
girls. But I'm sure of one thing. He'll be at the 
apple-cut to-night, if \\h possibly can. He said he'd 
come if he had to desert {knock at door. Enter Abram, 
greets Maggie.) Why, Abram ! I'm glad you got here 
before the rest, for there are lots of things I want to 
tell you. 

Abram. I heard the rest coming and hurried up on 
purpose so as to see you a few minutes before they 
arrived. ^ I think they must have stopped at Squire 
Westfall's or they would have been here before this. 



SCENE 1. TOM QUICK. 29 

I haven't felt easy about you ever since that little 
affair the other day. 

M\Ct. Yes, Abram ! Yon arrived jnstiu time to save 
me from the hands of the tory Piper. 

Win. Tory ! Why Maggie ! Is Piper a Tory ? 

Mag. Yes. He was one of the party that killed and 
scalped my grandfather. 

Win. Then Col. Tuston was right. He said there 
were traitors and Tories among us, and sent me back to 
watch their movements. * 

Mag. And that was the reason you returned so 
soon ? 

Win. Yes. 

Mag. The only reason ? {Tap2nng him under the 
chill.) 

Win. That was the reason for my sudden appear- 
ance. I do not regret the order, for had I beeu a mo- 
ment later, I fear tliat — but let us not conjecture ; you 
are safe now and the ruffian will hardly dare to show 
himself again. 

Mag. Don't be too sure of that. He is a bold, bad 
man. 

Win. Where was Pomp that he did not come to your 
rescue ? I heard you call him as I was coming up the 
lane. 

Mag. For the best of reasons. Piper had him 
locked in the chicken-house and told him to stay 
there and tight fleas. But, Abram ! is there war or 
danger of war that made Col. Tuston send you back to 
watch the Tories ? 

Win. Yes, war is not only threatened but actually 
exists. Brant has ravaged and burnt nearly every 
house in the Mamakating, Neversink and Delaware 
Yalleys. Not only houses, but hay, grain and cattle 
have been committed to the flames. The inhabitants 
have been slaughtered and scalped without mercy. In 



30 TOM QUICK. ACT 4. 

one instance only lias mercy been shown. Brant 
murdered the mistress at the Mahogomock school 
house, but spared the girls that wore white aprons. 
With a brush he made a black cross on their 
aprons, saying : " Show that and you are safe." The 
Swartwouts and Van Ettens, the Cuddebacks and 
Gumaers, have been driven to the forts ; whilst the 
Deckers, Hornbecks, Van Inwegens and Pattersons 
have either been slaughtered or carried prisoners to 
Canada. But Col. Tuston and Hawthorne, with a regi- 
ment of Goshen volunteers, are now after them, with 
what result, God only knows. 

Mag. When do you return, Abram ? 

Win. When I get orders. 

Mag. And when do you expect orders ? 

Win. At any moment, Maggie. 

Mag; Do you always obey orders ? 

Win. That is a soldier's duty. 

Mag. May I give an order ? 

Win. Why, certainly ! 

Mag. And you will obey me ? 

Win. Most assuredly I will. 

Mag. Encircle arms ! 

Win. Encircle arms ! That is a new evolution. I 
understand how to shoulder arms, ground arms, carry 
arms and present arms, but " encircle arms " is not 
in our tactics. 

Mag. But it is in mine. 

Win. Please show me the motions. 

Mag. I'll do so. Copy from me. " Kear rank, open 
order, march." (Abe takes two steps hack and Maggie 
stands in front of him.) Now, men, at the command 
" encircle " you will raise the right hand pointing up 
and the left hand pointing down, and at the words 
" ready, aim, tire," advance and fire right and left. 

Wm. I understand. 



SCENE 1. TOM QUICK. 31 

Mag. Front and rear rank to the^ center, march., en- 
circle, fire. ( Tliey embrace and Abe kisses her on right 
cheek?) 

• Win. Maggie, yon are a witch. I would like to be 
shot at in that way the rest of my life. 

Mag. Bnt you did not obey the order. 

Win. I beg pardon. In what was I remiss ? 

Mag. You forgot to fire to the left. Try it over 
again. "Front and rear rank to the center, march." 
{They emhrace and kiss right and left?) 

Enter Pomp with apiyles. 

Pomp. Golly, missie, dat basket is hebby. More 
dan one hundred bushels apples dar. 

Mag. You exaggerate. Pomp. You mean one hun- 
dred apples. 

Pomp. Well, if dar ain't a hundred bushels of apples 
dar, den my name aint PompjQuick. I zagerate ? Dat 
is what old massa said when I told him dere was 
more dan one hundred and fifty tousand million In- 
juns in de woods, but old massa belieb dat now. He 
stands on de highest rock in heaven and counts dem 
ebery day, and from dere he sees de Tory Piper. 

Win. That was the coward that was rushing on you 
with a knife as I entered ? 

Pomp. Yes. After he had locked me up in de hen 
coop to be eat up wid fleas. 

Win. That man must be looked after. {Piper lis- 
tening.) 

Pomp. You just leave dat to dis child. I'll eat him 
up. I'll sarve him as Jonah did de whale. I'll swal- 
low him down. He no fool dis nigger. You can bet 
on dat, massa. 

Win. Who is this colored boy ? Who does he be- 
long to ? 

Mag. Who — Pomp here ? 



32 TOM- QUICK. ACT 4. 

Win. Yes, this cliap that is going to swallow 
Piper. 

Mag. Pomp is our slave, and when we get married 
he will be your property. 

Win. Never, Maggie ! NEVER ! 

Mag. The law is, that when you marry me you take 
all my property. 

Win Then, Maggie, we can never marry ; for I will 
never be a slave-holder. 

Mag. Then I Avill sell Pomp and you can take the 
price. 

_ Win. Never ! NEVER ! I, Abram Winfield, a 
lieutenant in the Continental army, fighting for human 
liberty, for justice and equality, will never traffic in the 
flesh and blood of my fellow man. When we marry, 
Maggie, Pomp must go free. 

Mag. Pomp, you are free. I wouldn't lose Abe for 
all the niggers in America. {Enter young people. 
Shake hands all around and hecome seated. Pomp dis- 
tributes plates, knives and apples. In midst of gayety 
enter Deacon Simeon Cuddeback.) Good evening, 
Uncle Sim ! This is Uncle Sim, boys and girls. 

Uncle Sim. Good evening, young folks ! Maggie 
can I borrow your flax wheel and hetchel for a few 
days ? 

Mag. Certainly, if you can make it go. It ketches 
when I try to use it. "Pt)mp, just set out that wheel. 

Uncle Sim. I <j;uess I'll sit right down now and try 
it. If it works, I'll take it home with me. ( Uncle Sim 
spins and hoys and girls hecome boisterous.) This, my 
young friends, is wrong. It is wicked. It is a waste 
of time which the Creator has given us to prepare for 
the future. No such frivolities should be allowed at 
aity time, especially now, during this awful war. 

Mag. Why, Uncle Sim, if God did not intend that 
the apples should be peeled and eaten, why did he 



.SCENE 1. TOM QUICK. 33 

cause the tree to blossom and bring forth fruit ? 

Sim. Ah ! my doar frirl, the devil put that in your 
head. Eem ember, God does all things well. The sin 
is not in peeling and , eating the apples, but in what 
follows. It is the levity and dancing. 

Mag. Oh ! Uncle Sim ! Is it wicked to have a little 
fun, such as " button, button, who has got the button," 
blind man's bluff and all that kind of thing ? 

Sim. There is no. harm in the " button." It is in 
paying the pawn — kissing the girls. 

Mag. Wicked for the boys to kiss the girls ! 

Sim. Decidedly so ! EMPHATICALLY SO ! ! _ 

Mag. Uncle ! {looJcing hhii in tJie eyes and tapj^'mg 
Mm under the chin) Didn't you get a little wicked 
once in a while when you were a 3'oung man, eh ? 

Sim. GIRL ! ( If'oves uneasily and arises from 
chair.) 

Mag. When you used to buzz the girls ? kee ! 
[Pokes him in the side.) 

Sim. Girl ! 

Mag. When you used to go to apple cuts and take 
your girl home on a horse, kee ! [Punches him in side.) 
and hug her all the way and kiss her at the gate. 

Sim. [aside.) Confound the girl ! she has thinned 
the blood in the old man's veins. I feel fifty years 
younger than when I came here. BLAST me if I don't 
think I could hug and idss a girl as well as I could 
thirty years ago. There is no telling what an old fel- 
low will do when he gets woke up. 

Mag. Come, Pomp, clear the floor. Let's get to 
business. Come, Uncle Sim, show us how they used to 
do it when you were young. 

Pomp. Yes, missie, I clear de floor and den I kneel, 
den we hab a Virginny reel. [Dance, Uncle Sim 
looking on, hoth feet moving with music. Boys and 
girls dance one figure of Virginia reel.) 



34 TOM QUICK. ACT 5. 

Mag. Come, boys, let's have a march. Come, Uncle 
Sim, get your girl and fall in. 

Sim. Who ? Which one ? Where is she ? 
Mag. Oh, anybody, anywhere. They are all in love 
with you. (Maggie and ijartner lead the Diarchy sing- 
ing.) 

We are marching on towards Peanpack, 
Where the drums are loudly beating. 
We've just returned from Lackawack, 
Where the Indians are retreating. 

Will you list and go ? 

Will you go with me ? 

Oh come, my love, come go with me. 

And I will pay your bounty. [Kissing.) 

Pomp. Now for de bounty. (Maggie leads march, 
singi^ig as hefore. Pomp in calico dress gets fast to 
Sim's arm, and he joins in singing, ignorant of his part- 
ner xintil he ttirns to pay houniy. Deacon very indig- 
nant. VoMP falls on foor, laughing ; rest join in.) 
END act IV. 



ACT V, 

SCENE I. — Tom's Ckive in the luoods. 

Tom. My work is nearly done, and Indian scalps are 
growing scarce. For years I have been an outcast. 
For years I have pursued the redskins and taken their 
scalps. Their number now stands at ninety-three ; the 
contract is one hundred. Oh ! that I could meet -and 
scalp Muskwink ; then my work would be complete 
and vengeance satisfied. It was he that killed and 
scalped my fatl>er. It was he that fired the first gun. 
It was he that robbed my father's dead body. It 
was he that fired my heart and made me the avenger 



SCENE 1. TOJI QUICK. 35 

of the Delaware Valley. It was he that made me vow 
at my father's ^raVv) to kill all and spare none. That 
vow I have kept, but still he lives. These hairs are 
growing white ; these limbs are growing stiff ; pay work 
is not yet done. Muskwink must — shall die. To-mor- 
row I'll go to the Neversink and at Decker's Tavern I 
will kill and scalp the murderer of my father. Then 
I will go to Rosencrause's in the Clove and die. There 
I will meet again, and for the last time, brothers, sis- 
ters and friends. In love, they Avill close my eyes and 
lay me away. There I shall sleep sweetly until Gabriel 
blows his horn and says : " Those that are in the 
grave, COME FORTH ! " Then Tom will come forth 
with a hundred Indian scalps in his crown, as evidence 
that he has been a true and faithtul servant. But I 
tire. I'll go to my couch and dream of Muskwink and 
to-morrow. (Tom enters cabin and goes to hed. Six 
I/idians approach. Tom is seized, tied and fastened to a 
log of the house. A keg of whiskey is found hy the In- 
dians, of which they drink freely. Then a drunken 
revelry ensues among the Indians and they all fall 
asleep hut one. He takes a torch in one hand and a 
knife in the other and starts to kill Tom. He stumhles 
and falls across Tom's hody and is soon in an uncon- 
scious drunken sluinher. Tom gets his knife, cuts his 
hands and escapes. The torch the Indian carried sets 
fire to the cahin and the Indians are consu7ned in the 
flames. Tom vie tos the fire from a distance.) That is 
a vengeance I had not planned. That is putting the 
shoe on the other foot. They intended to burn me, 
but they are now charcoal. They are out of my way 
and I am out of their scalps. That makes ninety-nine. 
Now for the Neversink, Muskwink and one hundred. 

{Exit Tom.] 



3G TOM QUICK. ACT 5. 

Scene changes. 
SCENE II. — Exterior of Decker's Tavern on the 

Neversink. 

SwARXWOUT. I say, Gumaer, that is a mighty fast 
horse you have got there. 

Gumaer. Yes, Bob showed the colt his heels very 
easily. 

Swart. Did Cuddeback give up the stakes ? 

Gum. Yes. He told Van Etten to hand me the ten 
pounds. 

{Enter Muskwink, drunk. All look at him.) 

Musk. Ugh ! Ugh ! Here you all be. Come, let 
us have some fire-water. {Taking hottle from pocket.) 
Come and drink with the Indian that killed and scalped 
old Tom Quick. {Holding up bottle.) Come along, all 
of you. The war is over and the hatchet is buried. 

Gum. Don't be too sure of that. His sou Tom still 
lives, and with him the hatchet will never be buried 
until he has your scalp. 

Musk. Ugh ! Tom take my scalp ? (Musk, drinks 
again.) When he does he is welcome to it. 

Gum. I understand that he is in the neighborhood 
and is likely to drop into here at any moment. 

Musk. Let him drop ! I can handle him as easily 
as I did his father. 

Gum. Maybe not. You had the first shot then, he 
may get the first now. 

Musk. NEVER ! Muskwink always on guard. 

Gum. Hush man ! {looking ojfat a distance) There 
he comes ! 

Enter Tom. 
Musk. Ugh ! He looks just like his father. (Tom 
grits his teeth and seizes a chair.) Old man stay and 
die ! Tom run like a coward ! (Tom gripping chair 



SCENE 2. TOM QUICK. 37 



in a 7Yi.ge.) Look, Tom ! I will show you wliat a 
pretty face the old man made when I Jerked his sclap 
off. (Musk, niahes hideous grimaces.) Wan't that a 
pretty face for an old man to make ? I wonder if his 
son Tom can beat it. 

Tom. Scoundrel ! (Tom raises the chair.) 
Gum. Stop, Tom ! No blood shed here. 
Musk. Let him come ! I can pull off his shirt as 
easily as I did his father's sleeve buttons. Tom ! do 
you know these buttons ? {Shoining them.) Do you 
know I tore, them from his shirt the same time I did 
the scalp fi'om his head. (Tom seizes gun and cocks it.) 
Tom. Dog, march ! 
Musk. Where ? 

Tom. • MARCH ! ! (Musk, marches off with Tom 
following, with gun cocked. Scene changes. Enter 
"Mv^k. folloived hj Tom.) 

Musk. Tom, would you shoot me ? 
Tom. Yes, you shot my father. 
Musk. The war is over and peace is declared. 
Tom. The war still rages in my breast, and peace 
will never be declared until you die. {Raising rifle.) 
Dog, you die ! (Shoots and Musk, falls dead.) An 
even one hundred. VENGEANCE IS SATISFIED ! 
I swore to drive the last redskin from the Delaware 
Valley.- I swore to spare none. I swore to kill the 
old man with silver hair, the lisping babe without 
teeth, the mother quick with child and the maid in the 
bloom of youth. I have done it. The valley is clear. 
The Indians have gone west or to the Spirit's land. 
There hes the last of the accursed race. Dog ! I will 
not dirty my fingers in his tuft. I'll leave his body to 
be cooked and dried by the sun, und his scalp to be 
torn from his head by the wolves. I'll now return to 
my father's grave and talk with his departed spirit. 
•^ lExit Tom.] 



38 TOM QUICK. ACT 5. 

Scene changes. 
SCENE III. — Interior of Quick's liouse. Maggie 
sitting hy tahle holding letter. 

Mag. Why this letter was written more than two 
months ago. I wonder who it is fi'om. {Opens letter.) 
Oh, it's from Abe. {Kisses the letter.) Now I will 
read. 

Newbueg on the Hudson, Aug. 30th, 1783. 

Dear Maggie : — I have just learned that a messenger 
to the Minisink Country will leave in a few minutes, 
and I embrace the opportunity to inform^ you that I am 
well and doing well. The treaty of peace has been 
signed and the army will be disbanded about the 
first of November. Then I shall fly to the arms of my 
Maggie. You may expect me at that time. I am 
happy in the thought that I can then call you mine. 
Trusting that this letter will be received and read in 
the same spirit it is written, I remain your alieetionate 
lover, Abram Winfield. 

P. S. This letter may be some weeks in reaching 
you, as the carrier has several routes to go. I may 
arrive soon after the letter. A. W. 

Mag. Well, now, if I am a judge, that is a good let- 
ter — rather short, yet to the point. He is going to liy 
to the arms of his Maggie. Well, he will find her arms 
ready to receive him, and if I don't hug and kiss him, 
then my name ain't Maggie Quick. This hugging and 
kissing by letter don't amount to much. But just wait 
until he comes. Let me see. He leaves Newburg on 
the first day of November. Why, it is time he was 
here now ! He won't be long in coming — a hop, a skip, 
a jump and he is here. 

Pomp. Oh, Miss Maggie ! I'se drefful scared. 

Mag. Why, Pomp, what have you seen ? 

Pomp. I seed a great big blue bar comin' up de lane 



SCENE 3. TOM QUICK. 39 

and de way he swings liis forepaws, I tink lie want to 

squeeze sometinf^. 

Mag Pomp, explain yourself ! [Knock at the door.) 
Pomp. Dat will explain it. Come in dar ! Come in ! 

Enter A. Winfield. 

Win. Maggie ! 

Mag. Abram ! [Emhixice.) 

Win. This pays me for fighting and striving for 
liberty. 

Mag. And me for waiting. 

Win. Let us wait no longer, Maggie. Let the day 
of our wedding be fixed at once. 

Mag. lou command and I'll obey. 

Win. Will two weeks from to-daj^ suit you ? 

Mag. Yes, two hours. {Aside). That is a long time 
to wait. 

Win. I thought you would require that time to get 
ready. 

Mag. Eeady ! Why, Abe, I am like souse — always 
ready. 

Win. You will require a new dress and other 



♦ 



things. 

Mag. To get married in ? 

Win. Yes. You have \vorn that dress ever since I 
became acquainted with you. 

Mag. And a long time before. This dress was 
made and worn by my grandmother in Holland. She 
was married in it, my mother was married in it, and I 
will be married in it — if it holds together two weeks 
longer. 

Win. But, Maggie, I have bought you a beautiful 
dress right from Paris. I wish to give it to you as a 
present. 

Mag. When we are married I will accept your gift, 
and not before. Then you can properly give and I can 



40 TOM QUICK. ACT 5. 

properly receive. Look out for that girl who is con- 
tinually receiving presents from her beau. She won't 
make a jewel of a wife. 

Win. That settles it. 

Mag. You must take me just as I am — poor, ignor- 
ant and uneducated. 

Win. Maggie, you are a witch — a rough diamond. 
Come, now, tell me what has happened since I last saw 
you. [Sitting dovjn.) 

Mag. You told me that Col. Tuston and Hawthorne 
were in pursuit of Brant. 

Win. Yes, I remember the circumstance. 

Mag. Brant set a trap for them at Lackawaxen and 
they ran into it and were slaughtered. 

Win. What ! all of them ? 

Mag. No, not exactly all, but nearly so. Since 
that, the boy-s have .been so scarce that there wasn't 
enough to go around. 

Win. What do you mean by that ? 

Mag. I mean that the boys had to do double duty 
and spark two girls at once. And when we went home 
from apple cuts, one girl had to ride before and the 
other behind. Of course, the head girl had all the fun, 
and the hind girl was left out in the cold. 

Win. By the way, Maggie, what has become of your 
T-ory lover '? (Pipek, lixteniiuj.) 

Mag. I don't know. I guess he has drojiped out. 

Enter PoMF. 

Pomp. Yes, I is de darkey dat dropped him out. I 
tole him if he eber come here agin, I'd sarve him as 
Jonah did de whale — dat I'd swaller him alibe. Golly, 
massa, jest gib dis chile de chance — I'd eat him up. 
Yes, chew him down — make mince-meat of him. 

Win. That is right. Pomp. Protect your mistress 
and you shall have your freedom. 



HCENE 3. TO.'\I QUICK. 41 

Pomp. I don't want raj freedom. I don't want to 
be nobody's nigger. I want to stay right here wid 
massa and misses. [Abram rising.'] 

Mag. Why, Abram, must you leave me so soon ? 

Win. Yes, Maggie. I had imperative orders to clear 
up a few little matttirs as soon as I arrived, and only 
stole a few minutes to run in while passing. I will re- 
turn in the morning, and after that you will have to set 
the dog on me to drive me away. Pomp ! keep a 
sharp eye for Piper. 

Pomp. Yes, massa, I keep two eyes on him — and if 
he comes here, I swallow him. \_Exit Winmeld.] 

Mag. Pomp, I feel just as if somebody was coming 
here. I dreamed about Uncle Tom last night. 

Pomp. Yes, and de rooster crowed three times on de 
woodpile dis morn'n. And dat is a sure sign dat some- 
body is a comiu'. 

Mag. Suppose it should be Piper and he came here 
to take me off. What would you do ? 

Pomp. Jest let him come ! You'd see what Pd do. 
[Loud knock at door.) Golly, what's dat ? 

Mag. Go to the door, Pomp, and see who is there. 

Pomp. Come in dere ! Come in ! 

Mag. I told you to go to the door. [Door opens.) 

Pomp. De door is comiu to me. {Fnte/' Piper.) 
Dere— dere he is ! Dere is de debble himsef. {Knees 
shdke.s and hides under tahle.) 

Piper. Good day, miss ! {Swinging his hat, tarns.) 
Why, gal, what is the matter ? You treat an old friend 
ratlier' coolly. Turn around here and shake hands. 
{Takes hold' of her.) 

Mag. Hands off ! or I'll 

Piper. Call on that cowardly nigger, I suppose. 

Mag. No ; I'll call on the spirit of one of your mur- 
dered victims. 

Piper. Call me a murderer ? 



42 TOM QUICK. ACT 5. 

Mag. Yes, a murderer ! A villaiu ! A traitor ! A 
Tory ! 

Piper. Pray, miss, wlio have I murdered ? 

Mag. My grandfather ! You were with the Indians 
that killed and scalped him. 

Piper. You speak the truth. I was there then — 
and for a purpose. I am here now and have an ob- 
ject. 

Mag. What is your object here ? 

Piper. To take you — peaceably I hope. But take 
you I will. 

Mag. Then you will take me dead. I had rather 
die a thousand deaths than be in the hands of such a 
monster. 

Piper. I have no time to trifle. Go with me or I 
will bury you by the side of your grandfather. 

Mag. Then I'll be buried there. 

Piper. Come ! {Advancing tovxirds her. Maggie 
steps hack.) 

Mag. NEVER! {An Indian approaches from he- 
h'lnd ; throios a hlanket over her head and carries 
her off.) 

Piper. Mine at last, or I am no Tory. 

SCENE. IV. 

Enter Tom, hairs gray, Ihnhs totter. Looks around. 

Tom. It is a long time since I have seen this place. 
It hasn't changed much — not as much as I have. I 
was then young and active. Now I am old and stiff 
and Long Tom {holds up gun) has grown old too, and 
a faithful companion you have been. But we must 
soon part. {T/iroivs gun over shoulder.) You and I 
are on our last hunt. There are no more Indians to 



SCENE 4. TOM QUICK, 43 

kill or scalps to take — nothing more to do. but to view 
my father's grave and die. Sj^xit Tom.] 

Scene changes. Grave o/" Quick, sr., mcnmd and tomb- 
stone. Enter Tom softly and reverently, hat hi hand. 
Walks around the (j round. Gets down on knees and 
reads inscrijytion on stone. 

Tom. There my father sleeps. Would to God I lay 
by his side. Oh, that I could arouse the cold, dead 
clay and tell him that his death has been avenged. 
Ah ! his spirit is here. It is hovering round about 
me. He smiles approval on what I have done. Yes, 
father, you are avenged. {Holds up scalp.) Here are 
one hundred for one. But, hark ! some one approaches. 
I'll hide and listen. (jStej?s aside. Enter Piper draw- 
ing Maggie towards the grave.) 

Piper. Minx ! I've got you now. There is no es- 
cape. Promise to marry me or you die. 

Mag. Then I'll die — yes, a thousand deaths — before 
I'll go with you. 

Piper. Consider, girl. I am desperate. 

Mag. I have considered and am determined. 
Strike ! 

Piper. Then, take that ! {Rushing on her with 
knife.) 

Tom. And you take that ! {Knocks knife from his 
hand with gun ; seizes him hy the throat, throws him to 
the g'ronn,d,p>laces his left foot on his breast.) Cowardly 
cur ! What mean you ? Lady, go to your home ! I'll 
attend to this wretch. 

Mag. Not until I have thanked the good man that 
has saved me. 

Tom (aside.) That face ! That voice ! 



44 TOM QUICK. ACT 5. 

Mag. Oh, p,ood old man, I thank you ! The 
spirit of the one that Hes in that grave will thank you. 

Tom. Who lies there ? 

Mag. My grandfather — 

Tom. And my father. Maggie, behold your long 
lost Uncle Tom ! 

Mag. Tom ! Uncle Tom ! is it you ? {Falling on 
his neck and l-hsing Jmn. Foot still on Piper's hody.) 

Piper. My time has come. (Shouts heard in the 
distance^ 

Enter Pomp. 

Pomp. Dis way, massa, dis way. Dis is de way I 
seed him run. Golly, I'll swaller him now — eat him 
alib ! 

Win. Magf^ie, am I in time ? [Throws his arms 
arotind her.) 

Mag. Yes, Abram, thanks to Uncle Tom. 

Win. What, Tom Quick, the Indian slayer, the 
uncle of my Maggie ? 

Tom. Yes, the avenger of the Delaware valley. Who 
are you ? 

Win. Abram Winfield of the Continental army and 
the affianced husband of Maggie Quick. [Looking dow/i, 
discovers Piper.) What have we here ? 

Tom. This is the renegade Tory, Peter Piper. 

Win. Then turn him over to me for ])unishment. 

Tom. Leave the punishment of this worse than a 
savage to me. [Uemoces hi^ foot.) Get up, dog ! Get 
up ! (Piper ri.ses.) 

Win. In what way do you propose to punish him ? 

Tom. By turning him loose for an indignant public 
to gaze at and for children to point at and exclaim : 
Traitor ! Tory ! Coward ! Long Tom would be 
ashamed to put a bullet through his miserable carcass. 
No, dog, go ! I have never stained my hands with the 



SCENE 4. TOM QUICK. 45 

blood of a white man. (Piper meals off, Pomp after 
him.) 

Pomp. Now I'll eat liirn up. {Starts tovmrd Piper. 
Piper dravm knife and Pomp runs with fear.) 

{Exit Piper.] 

Tom. You told me that your name is Winfield, 
and that you are about to marry my niece, Maggie. 
When is the wedding to take place ? 

Mag. Two weeks from to-day. And, Uncle, you 
must be there. 

Tom. Why not to-day and here ? 

Mag. What, in a grave yard ? 

Tom. Yes, at your grandfather's grave. 

Win. I am willing. What do you say, Maggie ? 

Mag. As you and uncle say. 

Tom. And I say here and now. Before twelve suns 
have passed around my sun will have gone down — I 
will be in the spirit's world. 

Win. For a proper legal marriage we must have a 
preacher. 

Pomp. I can git you one in two jerks of a lamb's 
tail. I seed de Dominie at Squire Westfall's as I come 
along. 

Abe. Pomp, go for him at once. 

Pomp. I'll go. Dis looks like bein a cold weddin 
widout eny cake. \_Exit Pomp.] 

Tom. The last request your grandfather made was 
that I should be both an uncle and father to you. 

Enter Pomp and Dominie. 

Pomp. Here he is. I got him. Now, Dominie, 
freeze em fast. 

Frmt. I understand, friends, that you desire my 
services. 

Tom. Yes, we wish you to unite two loving hearts. 

Frmt. Who will give the bride away ? 



46 TOM QUICK. ACT 5. 

Tom. Her uncle, Thomas Quick. 

Frmt, What, the Indian shiyer ? 

Tom. Yes, the " avenger of the Delaware valley." 

FiiMT. Then let us proceed. {Surround the grave.) 
Here we have another proof of the wisdom of the 
Psalmist. " God works in a mysterious way, bis won- 
ders to perform."" Years ago the grandfather of the 
lady, that is now about to take upon herself the duties 
of a wife, was consigned to this tomb. His body lies 
mouldering in this grave. His spirit has gone to the 
God that gave it, and we are assured that angels are 
the spirits of just men made perfect. If so, then the 
spirit of this father is hovering over and about us, and 
I doubt not, approving of this union. My friends, as 
a token that this union has the sanction of heaven, 
that you have given to and received each other to your- 
self, that each of you possesses the whole of the other's 
heart, " that you twain are one flesh," you will signify 
the same by kneeling on this grave. (Maggie and 
WiNFiELD kneel.) Now, here, in the presence of heaven 
and these witnesses, I pronounce you one and record 
it in heaven as husband and wife. May the same kind 
Providence, that has so mysteriously led you in the 
past, continue to watch over you. May the same love 
and emotion that were your polar star in the past con- 
tinue to shine. And when the time comes for an 
earthly separation may there be a reunion in heaven 
between father and child, amen. {All arise.) 

Mag. Abram, are we really married ? 

Win. Certainly, my dear, {kissing her) and now 
you will accept a present from your husband ? 

Mag. Yes. {Nodding her head.) 

Win. And wear it to please me ? 

Mag. Yes, to please you. {Pats Abe tinder chin.) 

Pomp. Where does dis chile cum in ? 



SCENE 4. TOM QUICK. 47 

Win. You mean you're present ? 

Pomp. Yah ! clat's it, massa. Whah is my present ? 

Win. You're freedom. Now you Lave tlie right to 
marry and own your own wife and children. 

Pomp. But whah is de cake and de raisins and all 
de knicknaks ? 

Mag. We will have them when we return to the 
house. 

Pomp. Den let's go in double quick. 

\_Exit Pomp.] 

Mag. Uncle, you will go with us ? 

Tom. No, Maggie. Meet me at Rosencranses two 
weeks from to-day. {Exit Maggie and Win. lodged 
arms.) Alone with the dead ! Let me commune with 
his spirit. Here is the spirit of one of the just made 
perfect. The clod cannot confine him. Father ! 
Father ! Have I done right ? Is your death avenged ? 
If so, depart. My father says I am right, heaven says 
I am right ; my work is done, my mission is ended. 
Come, Tom, (Jiolds nj) gun) let us go to Rosencranses 
and die. To die ! is that all, or is there life beyond 
the grave ? But a moment since, methought I saw my 
father's spirit as it last appeared, to me in life. Yes, it 
mvM be so. There is a life beyond the grave. My 
father is in the Spirit's Land. I, too, shall soon be 
there. But I wonder if I shall there meet the hundred 
Indians whom I have killed and scalped. No ! no ! it 
can't be so, for we are assured that there all is love. 
There the war-whoop and the scalp dance will be 
changed to heaven's sweetest music, and songs sung by 
heaven's fairest angels. Ah me ! I have not thought 
of these things since I was a boy. I have faithfully 
avenged my father's death. That has been my re- 
ligion and faith — fully have I followed its rites. But, 
there is another spirit. Dimly in the outline I see her, 
as she holds my father's hand. It is she, who in days 



48 TOM QUICK. ACT 5. 

gone by, read to me from the old iron-bound bible, of 
those blessed truths she died believing in. It is my 
mother. She is beckoning to me, come. Yes, mother, 
I am coming. Earth has no charms. The valley is 
clear, the Indians have gone, nothing more to do but 
die. 

SCENE V. — [nterior of Rosencransi^s House. 

{Enter Maggie and Win. locked arms. Mag. in a new 

dress.) 

Win. Maggie, this must be heaven. 

Mag. Then I must be an angel. 

Win. You are a queen ! 

Mag. Is it this dress that makes me a queen ? 

Win. No, not exactly, but you do look lovely. 

Mag. In my first present ? 

Pomp {outside). Massa ! Oh, massa ! {Enters.) Oh? 
massa, sumfin terrible has happened. O, O, O — drefful, 
massa, drefful ! 

Mag. Calm yourself, Pomp, what has happened ? 

Pomp. Tom is dying. 

Mag. Dying ! 

Pomp. Yes, jest as pale as a ghostess. 

Mag. Why, what ails him ? 

Pomp. De doctor says he's got the spinal man- 
eat-us. 

Mag. The what ? 

Pomp. De spinal man-eat-us. 

Win. He means the spinal menigitis. 

Pomp. Yes, the spinal maneat-us. Dar ! dar they 



come 



SCENE 5. TOM QUICK. 49 

{Enter attendants, carrying Tom on a litter to center of 
stage. Tom revives^ 

Tom. Where am I ? {Lool-s aromicl.) Is this heaven ? 
No, it is earth. Bub I am in sight of heaven. {Rises 
tip, assisted hy Pomp and Win.) I see the silver lining 
behind the cloud. I see the portals open. I hear my 
father say, " Come, Tom." {Feeling for rifle.) Where 
is my old companion ? {Gun handed him.) Yes, 
faithful to the last— you shall go with me ! Where 
are my jewels — my crowns ? {Scalps handed him.) 
This is my crown of glory ! These are my passports 
to the spirit's world. Father, I come ! I come ! {The 
gun drops to the floor and scalps from his hand. Pomp 
and WiNFiELD lay him on the cot.) 

Frmt. This is death. Thomas Quick has died as 
he lived — in the firm belief that revenge is one of the 
attributes of heaven. Let us pray. {All hieel about 
the couch. Tableau.) 

FINAL. 



■aiiiiiij 

016 102 164 7 



